Mac OS X v10.6 includes new VoiceOver keyboard commands, as well as support for standard gestures on Macs with a Multi-Touch trackpad.

Also, two VoiceOver keyboard commands used in Mac OS X v10.5 are different in Mac OS X v10.6.

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VoiceOver keyboard commands that are different in Mac OS X v10.6

To open VoiceOver online help

Press these three keys: Control-Option-?

To open the commands Help menu

Press these four keys: Control-Option-H-H

(That is, hold Option and Control, then press H twice.)

To open an item's Help

Press these four keys: Control-Option-Shift-H

New VoiceOver Commands in Mac OS X v10.6

The following keyboard commands work in Mac OS X v10.6 or later only.

Note: If your keyboard has a Fn key, press it for VoiceOver commands which use a function key.

Turn the Keyboard Commander on or off

Press these keys: Control-Option-Shift-K

Speak the location of the insertion point

Press these keys: Control-Option-F4-F4

Turn on or off the grouping of items within a table on the web

Press these keys: Control-Option-=

Move the VoiceOver cursor to the next column in a table on the web

This command works only when items within tables are not being grouped.

Press these keys: Control-Option-Command-Y

Move the VoiceOver cursor to the previous column in a table on the web

This command only works when items within tables are not being grouped.

Press these keys: Control-Option-Command-Shift-Y

Next auto web spot

Control-Option-Command-N

Previous auto web spot

Control-Option-Command-Shift-N

Next web spot

Control-Option-Command-]

Previous web spot

Control-Option-Command-[

Delete web spot

Control-Option-Command-Shift-{

Set web spot

Control-Option-Command-Shift-}

Set sweet spot

Control-Option-Command-Shift-}-}

Next misspelled word

Control-Option-Command-E

Previous misspelled word

Control-Option-Command-Shift-E

Next sentence (in documents and webpages)

Control-Option-Command-Page Down

Previous sentence (in documents and webpages)

Control-Option-Command-Page Up

Next page (documents only)

Control-Option-Page Down

Previous page (documents only)

Control-Option-Page Up

Size of item in VoiceOver cursor

Control-Option-Command-F3

Position of item in VoiceOver cursor

Control-Option-Command-F3-F3

Read webpage statistics

Control-Option-Shift-I

Read an element’s help tag

Control-Option-Shift-H

Read an element’s VoiceOver hint

Control-Option-Shift-N

Open Web Item rotor

Control-Option-U

Open Hot Spot Chooser

Control-Option-[number key]-[number key]

Move a UI element

Control-Option-Command-`

Open resize UI element menu

Control-Option-Command-~

VoiceOver Multi-Touch trackpad gestures

If you're using a Mac that has a Multi-Touch trackpad, you can use VoiceOver gestures with Snow Leopard. VoiceOver provides a set of standard gestures for navigating and interacting with items. Note that you cannot modify these gestures, and that gestures which do not specify a certain number of fingers are single-finger gestures. For more information, please visit the VoiceOver Online Guide.

Here are the gestures you can use with Snow Leopard:

Enable the Trackpad Commander and VoiceOver gestures

Option-Control-two-finger clockwise rotation

Disable the Trackpad Commander and VoiceOver gestures

Option-Control-two-finger counterclockwise rotation

Turn the screen curtain on or off

Three-finger triple-tap

Mute or unmute VoiceOver

Three-finger double-tap

Force the VoiceOver cursor into a horizontal or vertical line when you drag a finger across the trackpad

Hold down the Shift key and drag one finger horizontally or vertically

Move the VoiceOver cursor to the next item

Flick right

Move the VoiceOver cursor to the previous item

Flick left

Move content or the scroll bar (depending on the Trackpad Commander setting)

Three-finger flick in any direction

Go to the Dock

Note: This gesture moves the VoiceOver cursor to the Dock wherever it’s positioned on the screen

Two-finger double-tap near the bottom of the trackpad

Go to the menu bar

Two-finger double-tap near the top of the trackpad

Open the Application Chooser

Two-finger double-tap on the left side of the trackpad

Open the Window Chooser

Two-finger double-tap on the right side of the trackpad

Jump to the linked item of the current item

Press Control while touching a finger on the trackpad

Speak the item in the VoiceOver cursor, or, if there isn’t an item, play a sound effect to indicate a blank area

Touch (includes tap or dragging)

Select an item

Double-tap anywhere on the trackpad

You can also split-tap (touch one finger and then tap with a second finger on the trackpad).

Start interacting with the item in the VoiceOver cursor

Two-finger flick right

Stop interacting with the item in the VoiceOver cursor

Two-finger flick left

Scroll one page up or down

Three-finger flick up or down

Escape (close a menu without making a selection)

Two-finger scrub back and forth

Increase or decrease the value of a slider, splitter, stepper, or other control